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(56-51) Gwinnett Braves 5 vs. (52-56) Durham Bulls 0
- Mallex Smith, CF: 1-5, reached on error, 1 run, .230/.271/..296
- Joey Terdoslavich, DH: 2-3, 3 RBI, 2 runs, 2 BB, .293/.415/.480
- Greg Smith, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 2.34 ERA
- David Carpenter, RP: 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0.68 ERA
Greg Smith dominated Durham as Gwinnett would beat the Bulls 5-0. Smith has split time between the bullpen and starting at AAA this year, but has been fantastic in both roles. The minor league journeyman has a 2.34 ERA in 23 games this year (including 11 starts) and has been great to help fill gaps as prospects have been promoted to Atlanta at a high rate this year. David Carpenter helped lock down the shutout with 2 scoreless innings of his own. The offense would be led by the bat of Joey Terdoslavich who would reach base 4 times and drive in three runs, which would prove to be more than enough.Jordan Lennerton and Mycal Jones would also drive in one run a piece and while the 7 hits as a team weren't overly inspiring, Gwinnett used 6 walks to their advantage and pushed 5 runs across as a result.
(54-49) Montgomery Biscuits 3 vs. (53-51) Mississippi Braves 5
- Emerson Landoni, SS: 3-4, 1 2B, 3 RBI, .282/.318/.359
- Rio Riuz, 3B: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 run, .212/.331/.262
- Matt Lipka, CF: 1-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, .261/.288/.322
- Greg Ross, SP: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 6 K, 4.42 ERA
- Jason Hursh, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 5.20 ERA (2.45 as a reliever)
Another strong pitching performance in a sloppier game as Mississippi rallied in the 7th to beat Montogomery 5-3. Mississippi fell behind early thanks to 4 errors in the game which led to 2 unearned runs. Greg Ross was excellent yet again for Mississippi, giving up 1 earned run in 7 innings. In his last 7 starts, he has given up 2 earned runs or less, although his record doesn't show much for his efforts due to some run support issues. Jason Hursh pitched an inning of scoreless relief to lower his ERA as a reliever to 2.45 and he seems to be settling in to the role in the bullpen nicely. Mississippi would be led back in to the game by the recently hot Emerson Landoni, who had 3 hits in the game and drove in 3 runs as well. Matt Lipka had a 2 run single in the 7th to get the rally started and Rio Ruiz even got in on the fun, getting on base twice and scoring a run.
(55-52) Carolina Mudcats 6 vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks 0
- Jose Briceno, C: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, .190/.230/.277
- Joey Meneses, RF: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 runs, .229/.300/.324
- Connor Lien, CF: 0-5, .292/.345/.435
- Keith Curcio, 2B: 2-5, 2 RBI, .225/.289/.296
- Andrew Thurman, SP: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 3.33 ERA
(53-52) Augusta GreenJackets 0 vs. (45-60) Rome Braves 2
- Ozhaino Albies, SS: 1-4, 1 2B, .310/.369/.405
- Tanner Murphy, C: 1-3, HR (4), 1 RBI, .181/.268/.278
- Joseph Daris, RF: 2-2, 1 2B, 1 BB, .282/.355/.416
- Sean Furney, SP: 8 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 2.51 ERA
- Taylor Lewis, RP: 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA
The third shutout of the evening goes to Rome as they blanked Augusta 2-0. Sean Furnery gets the gold star in this game as, for the third time in his past 4 starts, he gave up no earned runs while going at least 6 innings. 2015 draftee Taylor Lewis made his third appearance for Rome and has yet to give up a run. Ozhaino Albies did hit a double in this game and looks to be trying to round back in to form after a swoon over the last week or two. Tanner Murphy hit his fourth home run of the season, but with a .181 average looks like a prime candidate to at least start next season at Rome again unless he really picks things up with the bat. Omar Obregon stole his 27th base of the year and looks to be a threat to run any time he is on the base paths.
(18-20) Danville Braves 4 vs. (17-20) Bristol Pirates 6
- Austin Riley, 3B: 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, .357/.438/.643 (at Danville)
- Leudys Baez, LF: 3-4, 1 2B. 1 RBI, 1 run, .311/.331/..473
- Carlos Castro, 1B: 2-5, 1 3B, 1 RBI, .364/.390/.481
- Trevor Belichek, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 7 K, 4.23 ERA
Danville's pitching gave this game up late as Bristol rallied to beat the Braves 6-4. Grayson Jones and Ben Libuda both had rough relief outings and gave up runs that would ultimately prove to be the difference in the game. It seems a little weird to be disappointed when a player goes 1 for 3 with a walk and an RBI, but with the tear that Austin Riley has been on of late its at least a little understandable. He also had a forgettable game in the field with 4 errors (2 on the same trainwreck of a play). Danville was sloppy as a team on the field with 7 errors as a squad and with 4 errors on the other side as well, one does wonder if the conditions of the field were problematic. Leudys Baez went 3-4 in this one to raise his average to .311 while Carlos Castro continues to outperform expectations of him coming in to the season with two more hits himself.
GCL Braves - Did not play
Randy Ventura Update - We aren't doing game recaps of the Dominican Summer League very frequently, but we did want to do a quick update on one of our favorite little speedsters. Randy's current slash line is .327/.426/.394 with 43 stolen bases (in 41 games), 44 runs scored, and a 21/26 K/BB ratio. Given how late in the season it is, its unlikely we will see him stateside this season, but look for Ventura to be playing in rookie ball next year terrorizing pitchers and catchers alike on the basepaths.